Super Mario Bros: Secrets of the Mushroom Kingdom
by JamesWritesStuff
Summary: A mystical and ancient powerful artifact is stolen from the Mushroom Castle on the night of the annual Winter Ball. Now, it’s up to Mario and Luigi to figure out the mystery of who stole it, and why...
1. The Winter Ball

Chapter 1

 _Mario and Luigi's house, 985 Koopa Lane_

Mario prepared the finishing touches on his tuxedo. Straightening out the silky white bowtie, the hero of the Mushroom Kingdom examined himself in the mirror that was kept in he and his brother Luigi's room. Everything was in tip-top shape, and Mario was more than ready to finally head off to Princess Peach's castle, the location of the annual Winter Ball. It was also at this event that the mystical and ancient object known as the Crystal Shard would be on display, to commemorate its significance to the royal lineage. Mario smirked at his own reflection one last time before shutting the lights off and exiting into the cold snowy night. Heading down the driveway and towards his kart, he felt the vibration of his cell phone in his suit jacket's pocket. As Mario climbed into his kart, he removed his phone and saw that he'd received a text from Luigi.

 _Hey bro,_ the text read, _the Winter Ball dance starts in 15 minutes! You've gotta get here quick! Daisy, Peach, and I are still waiting on you!_ Mario's eyes widened at this and he hurriedly put his phone away and pulled out of he and Luigi's driveway, and right into the local neighborhood's streets, speeding away into the night and towards the castle.

 _Mushroom Castle, 1600 Mushroom Avenue_

The ballroom and dance hall of the regal Mushroom Castle was elegant in its own right- beautiful amber floors were decorated with silver, gold, and sapphire designs laid out by the finest artists within the Mushroom Kingdom, with the added edition of white and blue decorations strung out all around on this night. Paintings of the rulers that came before the current ones lined the walls, telling the story of one family that rose and then fell, with the Toadstool lineage taking its place. One of these paintings was of Theodore Toadstool, great-grandfather of Peach and former King of the Mushroom Kingdom. As the Princess stood at one corner of the ballroom, admiring her respectable ancestor, she felt a presence behind her, that of her two very best friends in the world, Princess Daisy of the neighboring Sarasa Kingdom, and Daisy's boyfriend, Luigi.

"Hey there, Peach." Daisy said calmingly as she approached her good friend, "I'm sure Mario will be here soon. He's always late to these kinds of things, anyway." Luigi spoke up as well. "Yeah, she's right, you know. When we were kids, Mario was always the late one to school, then to work as plumbers, and now to these fancy royal events! It's like he's allergic to being on time!" Luigi chuckled, as did Daisy and Peach, but soon the Mushroom Kingdom's Princess went back to slightly somber. "Even so," she said in her typical tender and light voice, "It starts in only a few minutes. I can't be here alone while everyone else dances with their partners." "He'll be here," Luigi said to comfort Peach, "I'm sure he will. We're brothers, after all. We've got that whole twin connection thing going on. Heh-heh." Peach laughed at this as well. Luigi was always the more softhearted and funny, albeit incredibly awkward, one of the Mario brothers. Peach, too, now had renewed hope that Mario would arrive at the castle soon.

Mario's red kart hastily into the primary parking area of the castle. After undergoing extensive security checks by the Toad guards outside, he'd finally made it to the entrance, and with 5 minutes to spare. Mario climbed out of the kart, making sure everything was up to par, including his hair, suit, and shoes. As he made his final checks, Mario entered the castle, passing by a few recognizable faces and a few unfamiliar ones as well. One of those was Toad himself, who stood at the ornate doorway to the castle's primary ballroom, holding a drink in one hand. The short fella and great friend of the brothers turned around, a beaming smile being the first thing Mario saw. "Oh, hey Mario!" said Toad in his squeaky voice. Mario smiled, "Hiya, Toad! Is Peach in there?" Mario pointed into the ballroom with one gloved hand. Toad nodded. "Yeah, she's with Luigi and Daisy. You'd better get to her. The dance starts in a few minutes!" Mario thanked his friend and ran off into the ballroom, towards the first pink dress he saw.

The lights to the ballroom dimmed slightly, indicating that the Winter Ball dance was about to begin. Peach sighed. "Looks like Mario won't be able to make it." Luigi touched her shoulder. "Aw, Peach," he said, "Don't be disappointed. Mario can be a bit... irresponsible, at times, but he's got a good heart. You and I both know that by now. He'll make it next year, I promise." Peach nodded solemnly. However, as Luigi shifted his gaze towards Daisy, the two Princesses and the green-clad plumber all heard footsteps running towards them all. It was Mario, dressed in his finest tuxedo, his signature mustache blowing in the wind. As he skidded to a halt in front of the other three, he put his hands to his knees, panting hard. "I'm here! I'm finally here!" Mario exclaimed, exasperated, "Yahoo!" He continued to breathe hard. Peach's face lit up. "Mario!" she said, hugging him immediately. Mario returned the gesture. Both Luigi and Daisy smiled, then glanced at each other as the lights dimmed down further and the slow-dance music began. They began to do what everyone else was doing.

Mario and Peach, meanwhile, simply stared around the elegant room before Mario put his hand out and sarcastically said, "May I have this dance?" Peach laughed and took his hand, the two in a loving embrace. As they danced alongside all of the other guests, Peach said, "You know, you could try once in a while to be sincere in this relationship." She lightly laughed, "I guess Luigi got all of the romantic genes." Mario smiled at this too as the music echoed throughout the hall. "I've gotta be the guy who saves the day!" said Mario, "That's where all of the heroic genes went. Luigi and I, we're two sides of the same family coin." "Nice excuse, silly." Peach said to Mario, "You're just looking for reasons to keep your feelings to yourself. _Trust me_ , if you just let it out to the person you love, it's so much better." Mario didn't say anything regarding this statement, and merely kept dancing with Peach for the next few minutes.

As the final song finished up, Mario let go of Peach, and Luigi with Daisy, and the four friends got together as a group again. On the stage built at the very back of the ballroom designed for guest speakers, some Toads wheeled a large cart up onto the structure, and the object on said cart was covered with a cloth, though everyone in the room knew what it was: the Crystal Shard. As soon as the cart was up and ready, one of the smartest individuals in the whole Mushroom Kingdom walked up onto the stage, and placed themselves behind the podium set up for their speech. That individual was Professor Toadsworth, former teacher at Mushroom University, current Dean of the aforementioned college, and old family friend of the Toadstool lineage. Mario, Luigi, Daisy, Peach, and the rest of the ballroom clapped for the scholarly Toad as he was about to speak.

"Welcome, fellow denizens of the Mushroom Kingdom!" he exclaimed into the microphone, "I sincerely hope we've all been having a smashing time as guests of the Princess herself, Ms. Peach Toadstool!" Toadsworth pointed in the direction of Peach, to which the rest of the ballroom responded by clapping. Peach smiled sweetly, trying not to be seen as flustered by the attention she was getting. Toadsworth continued his speech. "And of course, the Toadstools wouldn't be in power today without a very special object." The Professor gestured in the direction of his assistant, who came over and ripped the deep blue cloth off of the cart, revealing the shining, beautiful Crystal Shard. The Crystal was shaped like a diamond and clear, while also having hints of blue and purple in it. Several in the ballroom were in amazement at this fantastic object.

"The Crystal Shard, ladies and gentlemen!" Toadsworth said with great excitement, "A mineral of equal parts mystery, awe, and inspiration." Applause filled the ballroom as Toadsworth then pointed towards the Crystal and began, "Now, I'm sure everyone here knows what the Shard is. However, many of you may not know the full history of the object. Thousands of years ago, before anyone had settled within the land we now know as the Mushroom Kingdom, the Crystal Shard came down from outer space and crash-landed onto the planet, where it was eventually discovered by the early colonists living here. And as the story goes, it gave these colonists great power, who then rose to rule the Mushroom Kingdom. However, they abused this power horribly, leading to their eventual downfall, and the rise of the Toadstool family, who used the Shard's powers for good!" More cheers and clapping came from several in the ballroom. "And so..." continued Toadsworth, "That leads us to where we are today. And I want to thank you all for coming to the annual Winter Ball. It's a great honor to be in the presence of so many amazing individuals, including our very own Mario and Peach!" Some final whoops and cheers came in. Luigi patted Mario on the back in congratulations. "So," said Toadsworth with an air of finality, "I hope you all enjoy the-" Suddenly, Toadsworth was interrupted as all of the lights to the ballroom went dark.

There was slight panic within the castle's ballroom. Some screamed, while others began to chat amongst themselves about what happened. "Eh... do not fear, everyone!" called out Toadsworth, "The backup power shall be on shortly!" As the confusion continued to sweep over the room, it swiftly ended as soon as it began once the lights came back on. As the guests sighed in relief, Mario, making sure Peach, Luigi, and Daisy were okay first and foremost, noticed something. The Crystal Shard was missing from its display stand. Mario pointed at the empty cart and yelled, "Toadsworth! The Crystal Shard is gone!" Toadsworth looked over at the cart and saw the same. "Oh, dear..." he muttered to himself. Mario ran over to Toadsworth on the stage, and Luigi followed along. "Toadsworth," said Mario, "Are you okay?" Toadsworth nodded, "Yes, yes. I'm perfectly fine, son. But the Shard..."

Mario looked off into the ballroom, wondering who could've gotten into the castle at this time to steal the Shard, and for what purpose. "I think I have a suspect in mind." Mario said. "And who's that?" replied Toadsworth. Mario turned back to Toadsworth.

"Bowser." he said.


	2. Disappearance of the Crystal Shard

Chapter 2

 _Mushroom Castle, 1600 Mushroom Avenue_

Toadsworth looked up at Mario. "Bowser?!" he exclaimed. Mario nodded. "Yes," he said, "There's nobody else in the Mushroom Kingdom who would want to steal the Shard. I'm sure of it. His Koopa army probably did it for him." Toadsworth sighed. "Well, in that case, be careful, Mario. You know how powerful Bowser is. We all do. You may have defeated him 3 times now, but each time he returns with a vengeance stronger than before. This may be his most sinister plot yet. If he's going to use the Shard to overthrow the Toadstool family, we have to act quick." Mario nodded at this and turned around as Luigi approached the two. "Eh, Mario?" Luigi said, his voice trembling, "Did you say… Bowser?" Mario looked at his younger brother. "I did." said Mario. Luigi was physically shaking now. "I don't think I can go on this journey with you, bro. Bowser might have untold power!" Mario glanced back at Toadsworth. The older Toad said, "He's right, Mario. The Crystal Shard has laid waste to entire armies, and with the artifact in Bowser's hands, there's no telling what he might do with it." "We have try and stop him, at least!" said Mario, "The fate of the Mushroom Kingdom might rely on what happens in the next few days!" Toadsworth gulped, sighed, and nodded to Mario's statement. "You're correct. Potentially dark times lie ahead of us. Bring Peach and Daisy up here, Mario. The Winter Ball is cancelled."

And so, Mario did as told and led his girlfriend, and his brother's, up to the stage as most of the patrons from the Ball exited the castle, heading back to their homes in disappointment. Once the ballroom was totally empty apart from the five, Toadsworth began talking, and explained how Bowser and his forces may have stolen the Crystal Shard to use in order to put himself into place as ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom. "Oh, dear…" was Peach's simple reaction to this news. She reached for Mario's hand and clutched it as Toadsworth continued talking. Once his lecture was over, Peach made a proposal. "Professor Toadsworth," she said, "What if we… send a message to Bowser? A warning that the armies of the Mushroom Kingdom will act against him if the Shard isn't returned peacefully?" Toadsworth pondered this idea for a moment. "Hmmmm…" he said, "That's not a bad plan. But I doubt he'd listen. He is Bowser, after all." Luigi interjected. "But, I'd say that's worth a shot!" Daisy and Mario agreed also with this. "Very well," said Toadsworth, "Princess Peach, shall you send an ambassador to Bowser's Castle, far off in the Outskirts?" Peach nodded. "I'll be sure to only send the most courageous and strongest possible one." Mario looked over at his girlfriend and smiled, expecting her to say his name next. But, she didn't. "The Mushroom Kingdom will send my very own right-hand man, Toad!"

 _Bowser's Castle, the Outskirts_

The outer limits of the Mushroom Kingdom, or the Outskirts as they were known by local citizens, was avoided by the people of the primary kingdom for good reason: the land comprising the Outskirts was pure solidified rock and magma, with lava pools spread across the place unevenly. Black and grey volcano ash clouded the skies, blocking the sun on most days. And worst of all: it was where King Bowser and his evil Koopa Troop were headquartered. The 'Skirts had been the place where Bowser was born, and left to die by his neglectful parents. But unlike them, Bowser decided to make something of himself. So, he took a hold on the native, sentient lifeforms living there, such as Koopas and Goombas, then declared himself King of the hellish region. Everything was going great. At least, that's what Bowser thought when he first tried to expand his rule and take over the Mushroom Kingdom by kidnapping the Princess, Peach Toadstool. Then, her boyfriend, the plumber Mario, had to enter the picture. The same thing happened the next two times. The pathetic red insect, thought Bowser to himself as he sat in his oversized throne room made of grey brick, he won't have a chance to stop me this time. With the Crystal Shard, the whole Mushroom Kingdom will be mine! Bowser loudly laughed to himself as a Koopa Troopa, one of the soldiers in his army, entered the chamber, clearly taken aback by the sudden increase of heat as lavafalls flowed on either side of Bowser's throne.

"My Lord," the Koopa said, kneeling down at Bowser's feet, "I'm told by the guards at the front gate that a special emissary has arrived from the Mushroom Kingdom. Apparently, they, uh... er…" Bowser was getting increasingly annoyed with this Koopa. "What?" Bowser screamed out, "What?! Tell me, spit it out, Koopa!!" The Koopa Troopa was now visibly afraid. "Lord Bowser," he nervously continued, "I'm afraid you've been suspected as the thief of the Crystal Shard at the Kingdom's Winter Ball." "WHAT?!" yelled Bowser even louder than before, which was at the point where it nearly shook the whole throne room. The Koopa trembled at Bowser's might. "Indeed, King Bowser. Shall I send the diplomat in?" "Go ahead," said Bowser with a growl, "They can beg and plead for the Shard all they want, but Peach and her underlings will be powerless to stop me soon enough." "Yes, my Lord." replied the Koopa before exiting. After waiting a few seconds, a diminutive figure entered Bowser's throne room. It was Toad, the personal assistant of the Princess herself. "You…" said Bowser, leaning down from his throne to closely examine Toad, "You're the pitiful aide of Peach, aren't you?" Toad was scared, his eyes full of fear as Bowser's face got closer, to the point where the small figure could feel the larger turtle-creature's breaths on him. "Um, yes." said Toad, "And my name is Toad-" Bowser interrupted. "I don't care what your name is!" he yelled. Toad was even more afraid now.

Bowser continued, "Just read me whatever useless message the Mushroom Kingdom has sent me this time." Toad didn't say a word as he reached into his satchel and removed a scroll of paper. He straightened the paper out and cleared his throat. He began to talk. "To King Bowser of the Outskirts, the leadership of the Mushroom Kingdom has recognized that you and your forces have stolen the priceless, and infinitely powerful, object known as the Crystal Shard as a way to overthrow the Princess and her parents. If you do not return this artifact within the next 48 hours, military action will have to be taken against you, and your scores of Koopa and Goomba soldiers." Having finished reading, Toad rolled the paper up again and put it back in his bag. Bowser had a blank, yet still irritated, expression on his face. After several seconds of tense silence, Bowser let out a boastful, incredibly loud laugh, which actually did shake the whole throne chamber. "You really are all so wretched, aren't you?" said Bowser, to no response from Toad, "A small, little note simply asking me to give up the Crystal Shard? Ha-ha-ha! If you and your red-clad savior think that'll be enough to stop me, you might want to rethink your plan!" Bowser laughed again. Toad looked around the sinister throne room, and then back at Bowser. He was going to go off-script.

"Well, Lord Bowser?" he said in a futile attempt to save the Kingdom sooner, "Can you, er… at least tell me where the Shard is being kept?" Bowser appeared baffled with this statement. "Only if you agree to be thrown in a lava pool afterwards." Toad's eyes widened and he gasped. "Uh, no thank you, King Bowser. I think I'll just leave now." Toad turned around and began to exit the throne room, his hands and head still shaking out of pure fear from the shelled king. As he reached the front gates of Bowser's castle, the mushroom-headed individual breathed a sigh of relief as he finally got to go back home. "Idiots." said Bowser to himself, "The lot of them are idiots." For the first time in a while, Bowser, now slightly afraid that the denizens of the Mushroom Kingdom knew for a fact that he possessed the Crystal Shard, stood up from his massive throne, and headed out into the halls of his castle, preparing to go to the room where the Shard was being kept, hidden back in the deepest areas of the fiery place. As Bowser stomped down the halls, numerous Koopa soldiers saluted him, either physically, or verbally. That was the kind of respect Bowser demanded from his underlings. Total loyalty.

Bowser approached the red and gold-patterned door leading to the Crystal Shard's protection chamber, slowly pushing open the entrance with little effort. When the walked in, the first thing he saw was the guard he had put into place to watch over the Shard until it was ready to be utilized to its fullest strength and potential: The wizard Kamek, one of Bowser's oldest advisors and leader of a special breed of Koopa known as the Magikoopas, of which there were only a few. The Shard had been placed under a defensive magical shield by Kamek, which was only able to be opened by him, but the request for such access could only be requested by King Bowser himself. "Ah, Lord Bowser," said Kamek, approaching the King with his blue robes dragging on the deep red floor, "I've been studying the Crystal Shard and its history for a bit now. It seems that this artifact exceeds even my abilities." "What do you mean?" Bowser replied, intrigued. "Well, it seems that this object, while originating from the stars, holds magical and fantastical properties. I've been experimenting with it, and have found that it can conjure up anything that comes to its wielder's mind. Weapons, soldiers, resources. Anything." Kamek then stepped aside, to reveal the Crystal, a faint purple glow around it indicating that the magic shield was still up. Then, the protective coating was lowered, and the Shard glistened magnificently against the dark contrast of Bowser's castle.

Bowser's eyes lit up, his mind now completely engrossed by this object of ultimate power. Sure, he had tried to kidnap the Princess three previous times in failed attempts to overthrow the Toadstool leadership, but the Koopa King never had anything like the Crystal Shard at his disposal. This was the best chance at succeeding in his goals. "Eh, go ahead, my King. The Shard is all yours. Touch it, think of anything, and whatever it is you want will appear right before your very eyes." Bowser did so, stepping forward and laying one oversized hand on the Crystal. Even now, he could feel the power flowing through him. Bowser shut his eyes, and conjured up the mental image of something simple, just to start with. Six Koopa Troopas, all armed with spears and shields engraved with the emblem of Bowser's face. As he felt a vibration in his hand, Bowser opened his eyes, only to see exactly what he had wished for, standing right before him in the chamber. As he glared at them, the Koopa Troopas stood at attention for their king. Bowser took his hand off of the Crystal Shard and walked over towards the Koopas, closely checking them out to make sure everything was in working order. "Hm…" said Bowser, turning back to Kamek, "And these are perfect copies of ordinary Koopa Troopas?" "Indeed, King Bowser." replied the wizard, a smirk on his face. Bowser, too, smiled. "So, we can begin our assault sooner than I originally thought?" "Considering that we don't have enough power for an invasion right this second, if you continue to produce the right armies and scores of weapons, vehicles, and more, I'd say that Lord Bowser is ready to rule the Mushroom Kingdom, once and for all." Bowser smiled even wider, his eyes now filled with joy. "I'll get started as soon as possible." Bowser said.

 _Mario and Luigi's house, 985 Koopa Lane_

Mario and Luigi had now returned home from the cut-short Winter Ball, and the duo were out of their fancy tuxedos, and back into their signature red and green overalls, respectively. Right now, the only thing on the duo's mind was the whereabouts of the Crystal Shard, as well as the status of Toad. At least one of those questions was answered as Mario, laying in his bed, noticed that his phone's screen lit up. Mario quickly sat up and grabbed it. He had gotten a text from Peach which read, Toad has returned safely from the Outskirts. He didn't get any new information. I'm sorry, Mario. Seeing this, Mario sighed and put his phone back on the dresser. Luigi heard this and turned from his own bed. "What's the matter, Mario?" Mario turned towards his brother. "Toad didn't find anything out about the Shard at Bowser's castle." He had a solemn expression on his face. So did Luigi now, but less so. "Uh… don't worry, bro!" said Luigi, trying to cheer his brother up, "You've defeated Bowser before, and I'm sure you can do it again!" "Yes, but," continued Mario, looking down at the floor, "He has a magical weapon of untold power and strength. He's never done anything like this." "Aw, c'mon, Mario." Luigi said, standing up from his own bed and sitting next to Mario, "Remember what you've said to me before: you're the hero of the kingdom. And the kingdom needs you right now." Mario looked over at his brother, nodding. "Yeah." Mario stood up. "Yes, the Mushroom Kingdom needs me!" Luigi smiled and stood up as well. "That's the spirit! Wahoo!" Luigi high-fived Mario, and the two laughed for a moment. "Now," said Luigi, "Whaddya say we get to sleep? There might be a big day ahead of us tomorrow." "Yeah, you're right." Mario replied. And so, the two headed off to bed, with Mario prepared for anything that came his way.

 _Mushroom Kingdom Town Square, the next morning_

Mario's kart sped down the streets of the busy town square of the kingdom, with a nervous Luigi in the passenger seat, worried that Mario, in his chaotic driving, would crash into a building or hit a citizen. As the kart skidded towards and around a corner, Luigi yelped out in fear. "Mario," he yelled over the sounds of the engine and tires, "Where are we going?!" For some reason, Mario hadn't bothered to tell Luigi what was going on when he rushed his younger brother out of bed this morning, but Luigi was soon hoping to find out. "We're heading to Professor Toadsworth's office at the university!" said Mario, "I got a call from him that he found something regarding the Crystal Shard!" Luigi looked around as the kart passed by numerous markets and shops, saying, "Oh, dear…". A few moments later, the kart arrived at the road leading up to the university's parking lot, eventually pulling in between a couple of other karts. Mario hopped out fast, while Luigi simply climbed out of the vehicle and calmly walked behind Mario. Mushroom Kingdom University was an admittedly imposing building, with 4 giant flags draped over the entrance signifying its 4 founders. Deep red and gold were the sports team's colors, so the building reflected that greatly. Mario looked up at all of this as he ascended the steps to the entrance doors.

 _Mushroom Kingdom University_

Mario and Luigi traversed the halls of the college for a good 10 minutes, passing by many teachers, students, and whoever else, all while searching for Professor Toadsworth's office. After checking 5 different wings of the university, they finally found him, the sign outside of his office reading, Dean Toadsworth, Prof. of Archaeology and History. Mario smiled as he read the sign before knocking on the door. Toadsworth immediately let them in and sat them down at his cluttered desk. "Pardon my workspace," the Toad said, "I've been working tirelessly all day, and it looks like it will have payed off." Mario was interested by this. "What do you mean?" Mario asked. "Well," replied Toadsworth, walking over to his large bookshelf, "Last night I scoured the university's library to see if I could find anything about the Crystal Shard… that I didn't already know, of course." Toadsworth chuckled at this, as did Luigi. Mario, however, was fully focused on whatever he was about to be told. Toadsworth climbed a wooden ladder and reached for a dusty brown book on the top shelf. "Lo and behold, I found this!" Returning to his desk, Toadsworth dropped the book onto his desk. Mario and Luigi leaned forward to read the title, which was, _A Cultural and Social History of the Mushroom Kingdom, by Takashi Miyamoto_. "This book held everything I possibly needed to know about the Shard! And it unveiled some new truths that may be crucial to stopping Bowser's plans of taking over the kingdom! Here, here, take a look at this!" Toadsworth reached for the book and flipped its pages many times, before stopping at a particular one, page 152. Toadsworth laid the book back in front of Mario and Luigi, so they could take a closer look at it. The book's passage read,

"It is, of course, common knowledge by now that the primary method by which the current ruling family (see page 695, the Toadstools) acquired their leadership was through a powerful and ancient artifact known as the Crystal Shard. The Shard had interstellar origins, and crash-landed on the planet when the Mushroom Kingdom was nothing more than a few colonies. It was discovered by the first colonists living here that the Shard could be used by anyone to conjure up anything, so long as they were touching the object and had a mental image of what they wanted beforehand. This led to the first rulers of the Mushroom Kingdom, the Veronas, using the Shard and taking over the whole land, putting down any other kingdoms that stood in their way. It is said that King Verona abused his powers with the Shard, which led to the downfall of that family's rule, and the taking of the throne by the Toadstools. This much is what's confirmed by historians. However, several signs in recent years have pointed to the presence of another powerful and similar artifact located in the Koopahari Desert, located far east of the Mushroom Kingdom mainland. Though these claims haven't been officially verified yet, many expeditions have been made to that area of the land, with very few of the archaeologists who went there coming back unscathed."

That was the end of the page. Mario sat back in his chair and looked over at Luigi, who had a creeped-out expression on his face due to the prospects of explorers not coming back from the desert. Toadsworth spoke. "While, yes, the claims haven't been verified as of yet, all signs point to there being something else in the Koopahari Desert that could counter the Crystal Shard. With it, we could stop Bowser's plans from coming to fruition. But, the desert is a highly dangerous place." Mario had a determined look in his eyes. "I'm willing to take that risk." he said, "What about you, Luigi?" Luigi looked over at Mario. "Uh, bro, I'm not so sure about this one. If we go to the desert, we might not come back uninjured, or worse… not alive." This was definitely classic Luigi, being afraid of everything, and all that. This brought up the situation that Mario would have to take the journey alone. "You, Toadsworth?" Toadsworth laughed. "Oh, no. Maybe 20 years ago or so, I could've gone on the adventure, but I'm far too old now. I'd just slow you down. If anything, it's better you went alone. We both know you can handle plenty of dangers by yourself. Bringing another person along may increase risk of injury, or worse." "That's true." said Mario, standing up, "May we take this book back home with us? There might be more information in it." "Oh, yes, indeed. Go right on ahead, boys. I'm in no hurry to return it." Mario nodded as Luigi stood up as well. "Thank you very much, Professor Toadsworth!" exclaimed Mario with gratefulness as the two brothers exited his office.

Toadsworth sighed. "Good luck, Mario. You're gonna need it." he said, almost exasperated.


	3. The Other Piece

Chapter 3

 _Koopahari Desert Civilian Limits_

As it turned out, it was relatively easy to rent a driver to get Mario in the desert, at least to the edges of where tourists were allowed to. "After this point," said the Koopa Troopa operator of the sleek truck marked "Koopahari Tour Co.", "Everything is off the books. As far as I'm concerned, we never had this conversation, and I never drove you here. Got it?" "Yep." Mario said as he hopped out of the passenger seat, and into the coarse, hot sand of the Koopahari Desert. As the the door shut and the Koopa started the engine again, Mario gleefully smiled and waved at the driver as he began to pulled away from the desert limits. "Thanks, Mister!" Mario exclaimed. After the truck had finally passed over the horizon, Mario, decked out in his classic and iconic red attire, turned around and looked over the dry desert landscape. Several lava pools dotted sand dunes, and spiky, tall Pokeys peacefully milled about the arid and harsh location. Toadsworth's warnings and the book seemed to be right about the danger so far. "Well," said Mario, more than ready to endure whatever came his way, "Let's-a go!" The hero began his trek into the deep, rough desert.

As he walked through the dunes and dragged his feet through the sand, Mario reached into one of his pockets and pulled something out: a piece of paper that he'd ripped out of the book Toadsworth gave him. The page in question contained useful information, which was a map of the Koopahari Desert, with the potential location of the "object" which could counter the Crystal Shard marked by a big red X. "Hmmmm…" said Mario, examining the map, then looking back up around the desert in order to match locations, "It'd be this way." he said to himself as he began the descent down a particularly large sand dune. After getting down, he noticed several large structures ahead of him, many of which were pyramids and temples. Referring back to the map again, Mario realized that the largest pyramid and the farthest to his left, was the area marked on the map for where the other object could be. He began his walk towards it. The entrance to the pyramid was blocked by a large sandstone door. Mario stared up at it, then at the lever near the door. Mario pulled it, which did exactly as he expected, revealing the open gateway into a dark temple, which looked more like an abyss. At this point, Mario was glad Luigi didn't come. His little brother would be scared out of his wits. With that off of his mind, Mario headed deep into the sanctuary, ready for a new treasure.

On top of a distant hill, two Hammer Bros watched the red menace Mario enter a mysterious pyramid, using a pair of binoculars. "There he is," the one with the binoculars said, "He's goin' in." The Hammer Bro turned to his partner. "Should we follow him?" he said. "Of course, you idiot! That's the only reason we're here! Bowser's orders, remember?" "Ah, right." replied the other. For the past few hours, Mario and his associates were being monitored by the Koopa Troop so as to make sure that they wouldn't try to work against Bowser. Of course, that didn't work for long. "C'mon, let's get a move-on!" said the smarter Hammer Bro as the duo stood up and sped down the hill, right to the still-opened entrance of the temple. "We don't get there soon enough, that there Mario's gonna find whatever it is he's lookin' for! That ain't good!" "Duh, it isn't, you egghead. C'mon, let's just get to the plumber."

 _Temple of the Shard, Koopahari Desert_

The temple was dark. Way too dark. Mario could barely see, let alone take a single step without fear of setting off some kind of hidden trap. Luckily, however, after turning a corner, he saw a torch hanging from one of the walls. "Wew…" said Mario, "That's a relief." It was because of his newfound source of light that Mario could finally look around his surroundings. The temple was constructed primarily out of grey brick, with occasional sand seeping in through cracks or plant life growing around the base of the floor. As he continued through the temple, Mario couldn't help but get a chill up his spine. The location was totally abandoned. Whoever constructed it was clearly no longer home. At that very moment, however, there was a loud bang! coming from behind Mario. He quickly swiveled around, waving his torch about the corridor to ward off any potential attackers. But, there was nothing. After tensely waiting a few more moments, Mario cautiously turned around, heading deeper into the temple. So far, everything had seemed to be pretty safe and normal. That was, of course, until Mario exited the small corridors he was in and arrived inside of a very wide and long room, filled with what seemed to be green pipes. To Mario, these were familiar sights within Mushroom Kingdom, and he thought nothing of them. That is, until a Piranha Plant emerged from one and shot a fireball at him, right out of its mouth.

"Woah!" yelled Mario, rolling out of the fireball's way to dodge it. As he quickly took some glances around the chamber, he saw that there were even more of the rooted enemies appearing from their respective pipes, prepared to fire on Mario no matter the cost. The red-clad hero continued to dive and roll, all while trying to make it to the exit. As he narrowly lunged out of another fireball's way, he heard a voice behind him. "There he is! Get 'im!" the voice yelled. As Mario shined his torch in the voice's direction, he saw that it was two Hammer Bros, apparently chasing after him. Now he had two issues on his hands. As he continued to make his way to the other end of the room, Mario barely looked back, now solely focused on his own survival. All he heard as he passed through the next doorway was the sound of two stumbling Hammer Bros as one of them seemed to run into a Piranha Plant's pipe, knocking it over and leaving the fire-spitting plant injured in the process. "You fool!" the older-sounding one said, "C'mon, we're wasting time!" That wasn't important to Mario. First and foremost was finding what he needed to get.

As Mario quickly turned yet another corner, he stopped, leaning against a wall to catch his breath while he did. That's when Mario noticed that the wall he leaned on had an engraving on it, which read, "Temple of the Shard". "So, this place has a name." Mario said to himself quietly. Then, it occurred to Mario that the name of this place implied that the object in this temple was another Crystal Shard. Another incredibly powerful artifact that couldn't fall into Bowser's hands at any cost. Connecting this to the Hammer Bros' presence in the Koopahari Desert, Mario said, "I have to find this thing!" Suddenly, the took off running, straight down the corridor he was standing in and towards the next room. What was the next room? Multiple elevated platforms sitting above a spiked pit, which seemed to be filled with the bones of past explorers who didn't make it. As well as this, the rickety wooden boards were being patrolled by Pokeys, still with that same wide smile glued to their face, happy as could be. "At least they don't seem aggressive." Mario said as he took the first step onto the first platform, swiftly hopping over one of the Pokeys as it came barrelling towards him. Then, to the next wooden platform, and the next, and the next. All up until he reached the final one, which had 3 Pokeys rotating around the edges. This was gonna be a tough one. Mario braced himself for anything as he took the leap.

That's when Mario landed stomach-first onto the platform and in between all three Pokeys. Slowly and steadily standing up, Mario found an opening between two of the Pokeys as he finally hopped onto solid ground and made it to the next doorway. "Ha-ha!" said Mario, "Let's see those Hammer Bros get through that!" As he laughed to himself again, Mario turned around and continued on his way, anticipating whatever came next for him. But, it appeared there wasn't anything for him to dodge or avoid attacks from this time around. There was simply a wooden door blocking the corridor entrance. Alongside it were words marked into the wall, which read, "Whoever has reached this point, congratulations, for you are now about to reach the greatest object of all creation…". Mario squinted his eyes at this, butterflies in his stomach while getting ready for whatever lay behind the door. Breathing in, he put his hand on the door and pushed it open, the entrance creaking loudly as it slowly swung outwards. Mario cringed as the loud sound overtook the temple. Then, as it stopped, he kept moving forward, seeing what was directly ahead of him. It was a red velvet box, which looked especially ornate and fancy.

Mario slowly approached the box and examined it, feeling the soft velvet run over his gloved hands. Then, after waiting a few seconds for something- anything at all, to happen, he opened the box, revealing something amazing. It glistened off of the little light that shined into the room from Mario's torch, and was a beautiful crystal-clear object with purple and blue elements to its coloration. As Mario held it up closer to his torch, he had soon realized that it wasn't just any old treasure, no. It was another Crystal Shard. Mario's eyes widened at this prospect as he held and inspected the item closer, its simultaneous smoothness and sharpness being felt. He was in awe at this. Looking at it with excitement and intrigue, Mario said to himself, "If they're both Shards of one whole… could they be combined?" This thought interested Mario further. If the two Crystal Shards could be combined to create one single Crystal artifact, then its powers would be untold within the universe. "This is amazing…" Mario spoke to himself again, simply wonderstruck by the object's beauty. As he admired it, he heard a noise directly in front of him. The wall behind the pedestal where the other Crystal Shard was kept began opening, and eventually revealed a long staircase heading back up into the daylight, and into the Koopahari Desert. As Mario heard the sounds of the Hammer Bros arguing behind him, he took off running as fast as possible, back to the outside world. Right as Mario escaped the temple, the Hammer Bros came barging in, out of breath and disappointed at their failure.

 _Koopahari_ _Desert_ _Tourist_ _Center_

Mario, his clean red overalls now covered in sand, came rushing back to the main area where most guests of the desert arrived. Fearing the worst from his Koopa Troop pursuers, Mario intensely ran up to the ticket clerk's desk. "I need one bus ticket back to Toad Town!" Mario exclaimed. The bored-looking Toad at the front desk simply asked, "Name?" "Eh, Mario!" the hero said, still paralyzed with worry. "Alright, Mario," the Toad continued, "Bus N64S will arrive momentarily. Please wait by the bus station outside." Mario nodded and made his way to the bus stops, anxiously awaiting his getaway vehicle. As he finally noticed the bus making its way around the road's corner and towards the stops, Mario glanced behind him and saw the two Hammer Bros shoving their way through the tourist crowds, determined to get to him. However, right as one reached his hand out for Mario, Mario rushed onto the recently-arrived bus, which closed its doors immediately and headed off back to the main Mushroom Kingdom. Mario felt a wave of relief wash over him as he found a seat at the back of the bus, where he was free to scrutinize the other Crystal Shard piece freely. He couldn't wait to show this to Toadsworth, Peach, Luigi, Daisy, and whoever else. Mario sighed and smiled as he put the Crystal Shard piece in his pocket. Already, the bus was back on the familiar roads near Toad Town.

 _Bowser's_ _Castle_ , _the_ _Outskirts_

"...and, uh… we… lost him, Lord Bowser. We lost Mario." Bowser, relaxing lazily in his throne, growled and exhaled heavily out of his nose. "You… lost him?" Bowser said to the smarter Hammer Bro, almost too calmly. "Er, yeah, we did. We did, my King." "Was anything important at stake?" The Hammer Bro's eyes widened as he nervously stared around the throne room. "Um, well… there's, uh, no getting around this. We believe Mario headed out to the Koopahari in order to find a… treasure, of sorts." Bowser was getting increasingly annoyed. "What kind of treasure?" the King asked. The smarter Hammer Bro was sweating bullets now, and not just because of the castle's temperature. "It- it was a, uh… another Crystal Shard. We think it may be a piece of a complete Crystal, and yours is the other half. Mario got away with it." The Hammer Bro stared down at the floor. Bowser also stared at both Hammer Bros for a second, then screamed, "Are you KIDDING ME?! You lost the other half?! ARE YOU BRAINDEAD?" The Hammer Bro spoke up. "Lord Bowser, with all due respect-" Bowser interrupted greatly, "WHAT RESPECT?! If you had any respect for me at all, you would've worked harder for that Shard, and we both know that! I honestly can't believe either of you. You're done! Kamek! Come in here, please!" And, a few seconds later, the Magikoopa Kamek arrived in the throne room. "You requested me, my King?" "I did," Bowser replied, "These two buffoons have let me down greatly. I'd rather discuss what they lost later. For now, I just need you to carry out one task." "And what is that, Lord Bowser?" "Have them burned." The two Hammer Bros gasped and glanced at each other. "Whatever you say, my Lord." Kamek said as he led both Hammer Bros out of the throne room to their untimely fates.

Bowser exhaled again, now with the new revelation that the denizens of the Mushroom Kingdom held another Crystal Shard of equal, or possibly greater power. Bowser quietly said to himself, "The time may soon come to unleash the power of our Crystal Shard…".


End file.
